GUYE ADOLA WINS 2026 ROTTERDAM MARATHON; MEKIDES SHIMELES SETS WOMEN'S COURSE RECORD

Guye Adola of Ethiopia won the 2026 Rotterdam Marathon in 2:03:54 on April 12. Mekides Shimeles won the women's race in 2:18:56, setting the women's course record at the 45th edition.

Adola, the 2017 Berlin Marathon runner-up and 2021 Berlin winner, returned to top form in his first sub-2:04 since his peak years. He came through halfway in roughly 1:01:50 with a small lead group before pushing clear in the closing kilometers. The performance ranks among the fastest of his career.

Shimeles ran alone over the final 15 kilometers to lower the Rotterdam women's mark. Her 2:18:56 broke the previous course record by a clear margin and pushed her into the conversation for elite spring marathon honors heading into the 2027 cycle.

The 45th Rotterdam edition also served as the Dutch Championship, with the Netherlands' top road runners contesting national titles within the international field. The race retained its long-standing reputation for flat, fast conditions out of the Coolsingel start.

For more on the pre-race field and the Dutch Championship setup, see our Rotterdam Marathon 2026 preview. The longer arc of how Rotterdam built its place among Europe's fastest road races is covered in our Rotterdam Marathon history.

The men's race produced one of the deepest fields on the European calendar outside the World Marathon Majors. Multiple sub-2:10 performances followed Adola across the finish, continuing Rotterdam's recent run of producing world-ranked times.

Shimeles's course record adds to a remarkable 2026 European spring pattern. Rotterdam, Paris, Hamburg, and Vienna all saw women's course records fall, with Ethiopian-born athletes setting most of the new marks.

The race remains organized under the NN Running Team and the Rotterdam Marathon Foundation. Weather across the day held cool and dry, which supported the fast times in both fields.

Adola's win marks his return to elite marathon competition after a period of injury and inconsistent racing. His 2:03:54 places him among the top performers of 2026 and reopens his case for selection to Ethiopian championship and Olympic teams.

The 2027 Rotterdam Marathon is expected to return on the second weekend of April. Race organizers will release confirmed dates and the elite field in late summer 2026.